August 11th: In the Digital World or with Digimon Partners

Summary: Sora invites Yamato and Gabumon to a newly opened café. There they meet an intriguing young woman and her even more intriguing friend.

Pairing: Sorato (AN: at least they're in a relationship this time... I'm improving with the whole shipping thing)

Rating: K

Words: 2500+

Cake and Kyaromon

"Yamato, where are we going?"

Yamato stopped to read the message that Sora had only sent hours before. It was brief and if he was being honest with himself, Yamato would admit the message worried him. Sora had given him the address to (what a little online research had revealed to be) a small café. She'd also asked him to bring Gabumon, although he wasn't quite sure why.

The digimon had been visiting them for the past couple of days and were planning to stay for the weekend as well. Yamato always dreaded Gabumon's departure, mainly because the house felt so much quieter when he was gone, especially since his father was currently away on business.

"Yamato."

Yamato looked down at his best friend, startled from his thoughts. "Sorry?"

"Everyone's staring at us."

Yamato discretely glanced each way, noting the amount of attention they were receiving. While several children looked on in wonder, the older generations' faces carried a mixture of shock and horror. Grimacing, Yamato put his phone away (he'd memorised the address anyway) and picked Gabumon up into his arms. As he walked away, the stares followed, but eventually people continued with their own lives.

"Yamato," Gabumon whispered, "what's wrong?"

"Sorry, I should have realised walking around like that was going to cause trouble."

"They're afraid of me, aren't they?"

Yamato hated that anyone was scared of Gabumon. He knew his friend would never hurt anyone unless Yamato ordered it, and even then he would sometimes question Yamato's judgement. People were still so ignorant when it came to digimon, but deep down he knew it wasn't really their fault. If he only knew digimon from the news then he'd probably be afraid as well.

"People always fear what they don't understand. It's safer for them to act that way."

Gabumon hugged Yamato tighter around the neck. "I wish I could see you more."

"Me too," Yamato agreed and left it at that.

The café was a small, brightly lit place, its name spelt out in cutesy letters across the building. However, the sign on the door read 'closed.' Yamato adjusted his grip on Gabumon to check the address again and frowned when he confirmed it was correct. Gabumon looked up at the sign.

"Do you think they sell ice-cream?"

Yamato laughed and put his phone away. "Possibly, but it looks like we won't be able to find out today."

"Maybe Sora meant for us to meet outside."

"Maybe," Yamato agreed, looking around the area for any sign of his girlfriend or her partner.

A pleasant chime made Yamato jump and he spun around to see a young woman standing in the entrance to the café. Her light hair was pulled together into a soft bun and strands that were too short to be tied back framed her face. Grey eyes looked directly at Gabumon.

Yamato took a step back, not quite knowing what to expect. The woman continued to smile at his partner, who attempted to remain completely still. Finally, she focused her attention onto him.

"You must be Yamato Ishida. Sora told me you were coming."

Yamato nodded, not quite knowing what to say in response.

"I'm Yuki Mizuhara. Come on in."

With a brief glance at Gabumon, who shrugged in response, Yamato slowly followed Ms Mizuhara into her shop. It was nicely decorated from what Yamato could tell. The cream walls and well placed mirrors made the café look much bigger than it was and the soft pink accent wall at the back added a bit of extra colour. The chairs and tables were a rich dark wood with the same colour pink upholstery.

Suddenly a small fluff-ball with long, feather-like ears and a strange tail jumped up onto the counter.

"Welcome!"

Both Yamato and Gabumon stared at the digimon that was happily sitting on the counter, its tail flicking strangely. Out of the corner of his eye, Yamato saw Ms Mizuhara watch his reaction with some amusement.

"Kyaromon!"

Yamato looked at Gabumon and set him down, realising the owner must already know about digimon. The Kyaromon lightly jumped down, practically skipping up to Gabumon.

"I didn't think I'd see a Gabumon here!"

Yamato made his way over to Ms Mizuhara, keeping an eye on the two digimon.

"When did you two meet?"

Ms Mizuhara smiled. "Oh, about a year ago. Kyaromon has been a ray of sunshine in my life ever since."

"Do you work here by yourself?"

"I don't get that much business here, so I tend to take care of things by myself for now. It means I know all my customers and they appreciate that."

Yamato silently nodded, an idea slowly forming. However, his thoughts were cut off when the entrance bell chimed again.

Sora stepped through the door looking out of breath, carrying Piyomon in one arm and her tennis gear in another. Her face was pink with exertion.

"Piyomon!"

"Kyaromon!"

The two digimon ran to each other and Piyomon lifted the smaller digimon into her arm-like wings. They both laughed as Piyomon twirled Kyaromon around. Soon the three digimon began chatting, talking about their partners and comparing experiences in the Human World.

Sora rushed over, bowing in apology. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Ms Mizuhara! I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble."

"Not at all," she chuckled. "Yamato was easily recognisable with Gabumon. I just hope I didn't leave you out there too long."

"It was no problem," Yamato reassured her and Sora lightly grabbed his sleeve, smiling at him when he turned his attention to her.

"Why don't you two sit down and I'll bring us something to eat."

"Oh, you don't have to go that far," Sora protested.

Ms Mizuhara laughed. "Nonsense, besides I need someone to give me an honest opinion on my cooking."

Soon, all six sat around the table, with Kyaromon in Ms Mizuhara's lap. Yamato took a bite of one of the cakes. It was surprisingly light and not too sweet.

"This is really good, right Yamato?" Gabumon asked him enthusiastically, already helping himself to another slice with Ms Mizuhara's encouragement.

"It's very nice. Did you make these yourself?"

Ms Mizuhara placed a small piece of cake in her partner's mouth, who ate it enthusiastically. "Yes, I make them in the morning before I open. I'm glad you like them."

"Trust me, it's a big compliment coming from him," Sora said, biting into one of the cakes. "Yamato's maternal grandparents live in France, so he's very picky when it comes to cakes and pastries."

Yamato felt his face heat up. "I'm not that bad."

However, Sora just grinned back. Ms Mizuhara laughed at their antics.

"A French critique enjoys my baking? I don't think I can get higher praise than that."

Yamato sighed and the two women giggled. Soon the digimon were joining in the laughter as well.

"How did both of you meet?" Yamato asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from him.

"Oh, I saw Sora when she walked past my shop." She regarded Sora with a bemused expression. "I'm afraid I was a little rude towards you."

"Not at all," Sora reassured her. She turned towards Yamato. "Ms Mizuhara saw me with Piyomon and wanted to talk."

"Of course, I chased her half way down the street before I caught up!" She said, facing Piyomon. "Then I found out that I was finally meeting the digimon that saved my life."

Yamato's jaw fell slack. "You were on the plane."

Ms Mizuhara nodded. "We began falling so fast. Everyone was convinced we would die. Then a great bird-human hybrid flew towards us. I never thought I'd ever meet you."

If Piyomon's feathers were not in the way, Yamato was convinced he would be able to see her blush. Sometimes it was easy to forget how many people they had saved, especially when they had failed others.

"You must have been quite young."

Yamato looked up and realised she was addressing him and Sora. He glanced away to the wood flooring that was the same colour as the furniture. It was easy to brush away how young they had been as trivial. After all, it wasn't like anyone else was going to save the world in their place. However, sometimes the nightmares still haunted them. He felt something brush against his leg and met Sora's eyes. He attempted a reassuring smile, but it didn't feel very convincing.

"There are even younger children getting digimon partners now," Sora said, deflecting the topic easily.

"It could become dangerous if they are left alone."

Ms Mizuhara nodded, understanding. "I suppose it's not so bad if the digimon is Kyaromon's level, but they can become quite big, can't they?"

"Right." Gabumon agreed. "We get much stronger each time we evolve."

"Furthermore," Sora continued, "if a digimon is raised incorrectly, they could evolve in a detrimental way."

There was a long pause and Ms Mizuhara glanced between the two. "So your job as Chosen Children is to prevent something like that from happening."

Yamato sat back in his chair with his arms crossed. "Unfortunately, we have no way of tracking down new Chosen."

"Digimon are very loyal," Piyomon chimed in. "If a digimon believed their partner was in danger, they might react badly."

"It sounds like those with digimon need a space they can feel safe. I suppose I can offer that. After all, I have only recently opened my café, so I'm still quite low on customers."

"When did you open?" Yamato asked, suddenly curious.

"Nearly a month ago. Before I met Kyaromon, I was working as a secretary in a large company. My parents wanted me to be successful financially, but I wasn't happy." She hugged her partner close. "Kyaromon gave me the courage to open this café. I had saved enough money, but my parents were furious when they found out what I was doing. I want to be able to show them I can be financially well off and happy at the same time." She looked up, startled. "I'm sorry! You must think I sound so naive."

"Not at all! You need to be happy otherwise what's the point?"

Yamato watched Sora smile at Piyomon's enthusiasm. She then turned her attention back to Ms Mizuhara, her expression serious.

"We would need to check with some of the others, but would you be happy for us to advertise your café as a safe place for digimon?"

"Of course," Ms Mizuhara agreed. "Since Yamato's here, I'm assuming you're referring to Taichi Yagami."

Yamato had assumed that she had recognised him as Sora's boyfriend because of Gabumon, but if she knew about Taichi…

"Sora didn't tell you my name."

"No she didn't," Ms Mizuhara agreed, while Sora glanced between the two in bewilderment. "I recognised you from the picture that circulated the web. Of course, you and Sora were holding hands. It didn't take much for me to realise when Sora was referring to her boyfriend that she meant you. Finding you standing outside my café today only confirmed my suspicions."

"How did you recognise me?"

"I have a somewhat photographic memory when it comes to people. You look older than you did in the photo, and you might have cut your hair, but it's still easy to recognise you."

Yamato had feared, even after Gennai had taken those pictures down from the Internet, that some people would recognise him. Daisuke may have laughed at Taichi's photo, but people were much less likely to recognise a toddler who was now a high school student, compared to a middle schooler photographed with his still current girlfriend. He never admitted it to Taichi or Sora, but it had been part of the reason he had cut his hair again. He was a little paranoid that someone malicious would be able to identify him and Sora on the street.

He felt a hand on his arm and looked up at Sora's concerned face.

"Sorry, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Yamato shook his head. "I figured I'd be recognised eventually. I'm just glad it was you and not someone wanting to take Gabumon away."

"It will be helpful for us if you can recognise most of the Chosen Children that come through your doors. We can then make sure to have someone experienced with you to offer advice."

"I can charge reduced rates for any Chosen Children if that would help."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Yamato interjected. "After all, you still have a business to run."

Ms Mizuhara stood up and Kyaromon jumped onto the table, moving towards the pile of left over cakes.

"I'm so glad to have met both of you. I'll give you my email so we can be in touch, Sora."

"Thank you very much for talking to us, Ms Mizuhara."

The six said their goodbyes, but not without Ms Mizuhara forcing them to take home a dozen or so cakes with the excuse that they were going to go stale anyway. Gabumon and Piyomon were a little too happy about that.

The carriage was empty, save for the four of them, on their way back to Odaiba. Sora leaned against Yamato's shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed.

"Sleepy?"

"Very."

"You'll deserve the rest if we can turn Ms Mizuhara's café into a place where digimon and their partners can meet safely."

"Do you really think it's a good idea?"

Yamato wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, so that she was able to lean against him more comfortably.

"We can no longer keep up with the new numbers of Chosen, so anything that might encourage them to come forward on their own can only be a good thing."

Sora sleepily grabbed Yamato's hand that was on her waist and squeezed his fingers lightly. "Thank you for coming with me."

Yamato felt Sora's breath even out as she drifted to sleep. Piyomon and Gabumon both curled up in their seats, soon asleep from the day's events. He stretched back with a yawn, trying not to move on one side lest he disturb Sora's nap. Despite his own fatigue, he was determined to stay awake, at least until they finally arrived home. He thought back to the silent apartment and was glad that Gabumon would be with him tonight.

Yamato didn't think Sora would appreciate him trying to carry her to her apartment, so he gently woke her as they approached their stop. At this time of night, no one seemed to care that Piyomon and Gabumon were moving on their own, so he wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her close. Sora snuggled further into his jacket and let her eyes fall shut, relying on him not to steer her into any obstacles. Behind them, Piyomon and Gabumon discussed the day's events, catching up on everything they had done in between leaving school and arriving at Ms Mizuhara's café.

Mrs Takenouchi's greeting was warm and full of concern when she saw her daughter's condition. Sora let out a yawn and assured her mother she was only tired. As Sora stepped inside with Piyomon, Yamato politely waved goodbye. However, Mrs Takenouchi stopped him

"Yamato, you're father's currently away isn't he? What are you having for dinner?"

In truth, Yamato had no idea what he and Gabumon were going to eat. As usual, when his father went on a business trip, Yamato tended to use whatever was available and go shopping when supplies ran out. He made up some excuse about having made something earlier in the week that he was planning to heat up. Yamato tried not to flinch at Mrs Takenouchi's disbelieving stare. Sora watched on, clearly bemused.

"You should have dinner with us. I've made enough for all five of us."

Yamato politely refused, but was somewhat glad when Mrs Takenouchi insisted he and Gabumon stay. He offered to help set the table and made quick work of it along with Sora.

The meal was warm and filling and the conversations were far better than sitting at home and watching TV. He and Sora exchanged glances across the dinner table and when Mrs Takenouchi insisted he stayed the night rather than go home alone, Yamato couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Thank you for reading. I only did a quick once-over to check for any obvious mistakes to make the deadline, so apologies it's a little rough in places. I would very much appreciate any feedback, so please leave a review.